Animal Crossing Academy
by Cotton Candy Mareep
Summary: History is being made at ACA this year! The new student, a girl named Rina, will be the first human to ever attend the prestigious animal academy located in the heart of New Leaf Town. How will she handle her new life at a school surrounded by animals? Balancing classes, homework, club duties, friendships, and possible romances has never been more difficult, or interesting. [AU]
1. First Time for Everything

Chapter 1: First Time for Everything

A girl sat alone, perched comfortably on her seat beside a window down the middle of the train as it bumped and rattled onward toward its destination. A large bag took up all the remaining space on the bench beside her, her enormous plaid suitcase in shades of pink and pale purple. The girl's long, dark brown hair trailed down her back in waves as she absentmindedly pressed her face against the windowpane, her lightly freckled nose nearly touching the glass as she stared out at the world passing by outside. Wondering what was to come.

Sunlight filtered through the window in beams, landing over the girl's skin and making her feel comfortably warm. It was a beautiful September day, just at the end of summer when the sweltering heat of August hadn't quite decided to let go just yet, and the girl watched as the train sped past rolling green hills, lush leafy forests, and small towns that could just be made out on the distant horizon. Oh, how she wished she could simply freeze time in this moment, and sit on this train forever.

Her fingers gripped tightly at the sheet of neatly folded paper that was nestled in the pocket of her jeans, holding on to it as though her life depended on it. This very piece of paper held the one and only reason she was on this train in the first place, hurtling off toward a new town, a new life. She bit her lip in deep thought as she recalled just how her family had sent her off at the train station back home, letting the recent memories wash over her.

Her mother had been ecstatic, as usual, all smiles and laughs. "Good luck, Rina! I'm sure you'll do just fine! And be sure to write us!"

Her father had grinned at her, too. "Just another adventure, right? We'll see you again soon, Rina."

But her little brother had given her the best sendoff, his skinny little arms wrapped around her waist in a tight hug as he looked up at her and said, "I'll miss you, Rina."

Rina smiled back at them, though she still felt a little sad inside, and ruffled her brother's dark hair affectionately with her one free hand. "Don't worry, Yuki. I'll write you lots of letters and tell you all about my adventures at school, okay?"

The little boy smiled. "Every day?"

She nodded. "If you want me to."

He giggled, probably excited at the prospect of hearing all about his elder sister's new animal classmates. Rina couldn't blame him.

Taking a deep breath, the girl pulled the piece of paper from her pocket again and unfolded it. It was a letter - her eyes quickly scanned the printed words that she had already read many times over. Oh, how surprised she had been to receive this letter! Her parents couldn't believe it, and neither could she. This would be a first for everyone!

The envelope had been stamped shut with a uniquely official-looking seal, an image of a leaf with what looked like a rounded little bite or hole in it stamped into the circle of green wax. She had pried it open with shaking fingers, back when she first received it in the daily mail only two weeks prior, wondering just what to expect inside. And ever since, she had always kept the letter close.

 **-x-x-x-**

 _Dear Miss Rina Hayashi,_

 _After thorough review of your application, including the analysis of your entrance essay, test scores, and questionnaire, we, as the official board of admittance to Animal Crossing Academy, are pleased to inform you that your exceptional record is deserving of a coveted scholarship position at our school. We here at ACA believe that someone like you is just what the academy needs to become a more diverse and accepting institution, and your personal qualities are exactly what we would expect of a successful student at our school. We sincerely congratulate you on your acceptance into the academy, and look forward to seeing you on campus at the start of this coming term. The Academy opens on the 1st of September, but classes officially begin on Monday the 2nd to ensure that students are given enough time to settle in, enabling a sleeker transition into the school setting._

 _Please bear in mind that Animal Crossing Academy is a prestigious and widely renowned school, and that continuous misbehavior will not be tolerated._

 _Enclosed with this letter, you will find a list of transfer requirements, scholarship details, and more information to be familiar with before starting at Animal Crossing Academy. Please ensure that this second sheet is promptly read over and filled out as needed._

 _See you on the 1st!_

 _\- Pelly Crane, Academy Staff_

 _\- T. Tortimer, Headmaster_

 **-x-x-x-**

Rina Marie Hayashi would be the first human to ever attend the prestigious all-animal Animal Crossing Academy. She was making history, she told herself.

It did make her quite a bit nervous, the thought of being the only human at the school. Sure, she knew all about the animals, but there weren't very many back in her hometown. And none went to the public high school that she had previously attended. In fact, she had never actually spoken to one, though she knew their language well enough - Animalese was practically the same as the human language, but with many different unique accents and ways of saying certain words. While at school, she would surely become an expert in the dialect, soon enough.

She had made it onto this train, after all. That morning, she met her first animal up close, politely nodding in greeting to the brown-furred monkey dressed in uniform blue who had accepted her train ticket and welcomed her aboard.

"Hi there!"

Rina was startled by the sudden unfamiliar voice that jolted her from her whirlwind of thoughts, the papers on her lap fluttering. Speaking of Animalese...

She hadn't even noticed that the train had stopped, and a new passenger had climbed aboard. A passenger who now stood right in front of her, watching her with an expectant grin...

A passenger who was a cat.

"I'll just plop down right here, if you don't mind. It's much more fun traveling in pairs, anyway. Or so they say, haha."

Rina glanced down at the suitcase on the seat next to her - should she move it? - but then again, nearly all of the train seats were empty, she thought fleetingly…

However, in the end it didn't matter, because the cat sat down on the bench directly across from her. Rina relaxed slightly and raised her eyes to observe her new company in greater detail. It was a cat with sleek navy-blue and white fur, and bright, narrow-pupiled eyes that were positively beaming at her. He was dressed neatly in a checkered sweater vest and khaki pants.

"By the way, um… Can I ask your name?"

Rina quickly snapped out of her trailing observations of the cat as she was interrupted by his high-pitched voice. "Oh, um… yeah. My name's Rina… Rina Hayashi."

The cat smiled again, flashing his clean white pointed teeth. Rina hoped he wan't laughing at her terrible accent, but he seemed much too nice for that. "That's a pretty name. Anyway, I'm Rover. It's a pleasure to meet you!"

He held out a hand… er, paw. Rina tentatively raised her own hand to shake it, ignoring the strange feeling of fur and paw pads against her skin.

"So… Where are you headed today, Rina? I don't think I've seen you around before…" He paused for a moment, then laughed to himself. "Actually, of course I haven't! I don't see all that many humans around here, you know. And I've never spoken to one before, so this is exciting!"

She nodded shyly. "Yes, I-I'm new around here… I've never spoken to a cat before, either. I'm on my way to New Leaf Town to attend the school there…"

"Wait… Animal Crossing Academy, you mean?" He rested one paw against his chin thoughtfully, muttering to himself. "It's gotta be, that _is_ the only school in the area..."

The brunette girl nodded, and Rover's feline eyes widened. "Huh, that's where I'm going, too!" He gave her a look. "But… um, like I said, you're a human… and the Academy is an all-animal school…"

Rina smiled nervously. "Well… Not anymore, I guess. They've accepted me."

She flashed her acceptance letter at the cat, and Rover gaped at her in awe. "Oh, wow! Really? A _human_ at our school?"

To her relief, he beamed again, as though he were in the presence of a celebrity and not just an ordinary human girl with a plain face and shy smile. "Awesome! We can be friends, then! Because you won't know anyone up at the Academy, right?"

Rina nodded with a hint of sadness - she had left everyone she knew back at her old school, not that she had very many friends there, anyway - and Rover let out a small laugh as though he could tell exactly what she was thinking. "I don't have many friends up at the school, myself… They all think I talk too much. Can you believe it?"

"Um…"

At that moment, the train let out a shrill whistle, saving Rina from having to respond to Rover's question. A booming announcement sounded over the train's PA system in clearly worded Animalese.

"Now arriving in New Leaf! New Leaf Station! Eek, eek!"

Rover nodded and stood up, grinning excitedly at her. "Hey, looks like our stop! Come on!"

The train slowed to a halt, and Rover hurried down the aisle between the rows of seats and off the train with his small red backpack in tow, leaving Rina alone to hoist up her heavy suitcase and drag it with her onto the station platform. The same uniformed monkey she had met earlier helped her carry it down the steps.

"There you go, young lady! Have a nice time in New Leaf Town, eek eek!"

He helped her stand the suitcase upright on the cobblestone, positioning it so that it could easily be wheeled away into town, and Rina quickly grabbed the handle and took off down the stairs where Rover was waiting for her with his tail twitching impatiently. Rina waved a quick goodbye to the porter and stole one last glance at the train station behind her. The official flag of New Leaf soared high above their heads, a pale background displaying a large green leaf with one rounded hole cut cleanly at the edge, much like the seal that was on the acceptance letter she had received from the school.

She smiled as she let her arm fall to her side, and her hand brushed lightly against the folded paper still tucked snugly into her pocket.

"Come on, Rina!" Rover meowed happily at her, gesturing her forward in the direction of Main Street just beyond the station. "We haven't got all day, the Academy is waiting for us!"

This was it... A new town, new school, and hopefully a whole heap of new friends, were all in store for her. She gave her suitcase a tug and took off after her new cat friend, butterflies of mixed nerves and excitement fluttering within her chest as she took her first steps toward New Leaf Town. Who knew what could happen this school year?

Rina Hayashi was well on her way to her new beginning.

* * *

 **A/N: Hello, Cotton Candy Mareep here with a brand new story! I was just kind of thinking about how nearly every fandom has a high school AU, but I've personally never seen one done for Animal Crossing, so... yeah, this happened. Don't ask me why. I had a few headcanons regarding the idea, and in the end, I figured I might as well write some of it out and post it here.**

 **I'm not really sure how far I'll continue on with this story at the moment, seeing as how I don't know whether or not there will be any readers, and more importantly, I have a few more fanfics on higher priority right now, along with a ton of other fanfiction ideas I'd like to write soon as well. But if you read this and want me to continue on with the story, or have any good ideas I might be able to use, please let me know via review (though I won't be accepting OCs - canon villagers only)** **! Otherwise I'll probably just update sporadically.**

 **-CCM**


	2. Turning Over a New Leaf

Chapter 2: Turning Over a New Leaf

The short walk down Main Street in New Leaf Town on the way to school was largely uneventful, but that didn't make it any less exciting for Rina. Quite the contrary, in fact.

Rover trotted on just a few steps ahead of her, his little red backpack slung over one shoulder as he rambled on and on, pointing out various places of interest. Perhaps the other animals at the Academy had a point, Rina thought fleetingly, when they said that the cat talked too much, though it didn't really bother her. She could hardly hold on to his words, however, as he spoke in such an eager rush that his Animalese dialect was particularly difficult to make out, and there was just so much to take in!

Rina carefully tugged her big plaid suitcase stuffed with all her belongings behind her as she stared in wide-eyed wonder at shop after shop they passed on Main Street – a gardening supplies store here, a shoe store there, much like she could find in her own hometown. Though the stores she remembered back home certainly didn't have names quite as amusing as the hair salon 'Shampoodle,' for instance. And the people – or more appropriately, _animals_ , as she didn't sight another human even once on their walk – were even more interesting to look at.

Perched at an outdoor table on the sheltered patio of one little café, a fluffy snow-white sheep wearing a violet checkered scarf around her neck chatted animatedly with a tall kangaroo in heavily-accented Animalese, and Rina craned her neck to spot the young joey kangaroo snuggled comfortably in the latter's pouch. Just outside another store, an older blue goat with a bushy white mustache was sweeping the doorstep with a well-worn broom, while a large purple bear napped on a bench a little ways away in the shade of a wide oak tree.

Just as she was distracted trying to take in all these sights at once, an enormous brown bull with great curved horns suddenly came barreling down the path straight toward them, and the two students hastily leapt out of the way just in time to let him pass, Rover's lively chatter not even broken for a moment. On the other side of the street, a chestnut-colored dog with floppy ears strolled paw-in-paw with a small pink mouse, both of them smiling and laughing in the early September sunshine.

It was all rather familiar to Rina, and yet so utterly new to her. The human girl felt as though her eyes couldn't possibly take in as much as she desperately wanted to see.

But they walked so quickly down the cobblestone road through town that there wasn't any time to stop and look at anything closer. Oh, well – Rina figured there would always be time to explore everything that New Leaf Town had to offer later on, once she had settled in at the Academy. She had already noticed a few places on the street that especially stood out to her; perhaps she could stop by for a visit over the weekend, when she had the free time. If all went well in her first couple days of classes, she might even have a whole group of new friends to accompany her then, which would be a lot of fun.

Soon enough, Rina found herself following Rover down a slightly narrower road that veered away from the main street in town and meandered a bit through the surrounding forest, up a gently sloping hill lined with vibrant green grass and lush trees. And then, after a few more minutes of walking, just up ahead of them on the path, she could finally see what might be her first glimpse of –

"We're here!" Rover loudly announced, breaking Rina's train of thought as she quietly observed the scene. "Rina, allow me to officially welcome you to the one and only Animal Crossing Academy!"

He flung his arms out with a flourish, turning to look Rina in the eye excitedly, and then took a dramatic little bow that she couldn't help but giggle at. The brunette girl looked over his shoulder to spot the enormous, fancy-looking wrought iron fence with the name of the school elaborately carved over the entranceway, and just beyond that, a collection of neat stone buildings scattered around a beautiful courtyard. She couldn't help but stare in awe - the courtyard was filled with a bright array of colorful flowers growing everywhere in tidy little patches, and in the very center of it all, there stood a huge fountain that threw a gentle mist into the breeze, making the entire clearing resonate with the calming sound of running water.

And, even more fascinating (which was saying quite a lot), there were animals _everywhere_. Cats gossiping amongst each other in small groups, comparing makeup techniques and purring in amusement as one of them shared a particularly tasty tidbit about so-and-so doing something or other; a half dozen frogs and ducks splashing at each other in the fountain pool, while a little bird laughed at them from the very top tier, unreachable; a pair of horses and even what looked to be some sort of deer, racing each other from one school building to another. Animals her own age, in all different colors of the rainbow, it seemed, most already dressed in school uniform – her soon-to-be classmates!

At first sight, Animal Crossing Academy was turning out even better than Rina had ever imagined it to be.

"This is amazing," she breathed, and Rover grinned toothily at her.

"That it is! But you'll see, this isn't all we've got to offer, not even close!" He paused, gesturing the girl forward with one white paw. "Well, what are you waiting for? Come on!"

He sped off through the iron gates, leaving Rina to quickly heft up her suitcase again and attempt to dart after him, struggling as its tiny wheels got caught on the uneven stone pathway that weaved through the campus. A few other animals in the courtyard glanced over to catch sight of her effort with brief expressions of surprise crossing their faces, but Rina was much too consumed in dragging her luggage along behind her to even notice.

Frowning, she forcibly tugged at the handle in frustration as one of the bag's wheels got particularly wedged into a crack between two paving stones, and next thing she knew, she was thrown right onto the ground, landing flat on her back. Hard. Her suitcase clattered loudly to the pavement beside her.

"Oh, be careful there, boosh," a sudden voice cautioned in Animalese from somewhere above Rina's head. "The ground gets a little uneven… but I assume you've already noticed that, heh. Here, let me help you up."

Whoever was speaking just out of view held out their arm to assist her, and Rina quickly found that they didn't have a hand, or even a paw, but a _hoof_.

She turned her head to look up at the animal who was helping her in wonder. Oddly enough, it was the deer she had seen racing with the horses just a moment before. He had very short, sleek blue fur with a small spattering of freckles over his face (if you could even call them that, seeing as the spots were on his fur and not just over skin) and dark brown antlers that stuck out of his head at sharp angles, as well as a lime green zippered workout jacket on over his basic school uniform.

He helped her to her feet, and she hastily brushed off the smudges of dirt left on her jeans from when she fell. Then, before she could even shout out in alarm, the deer gave her fallen suitcase a good, hard kick – but it turned out he was only setting it back upright for her.

"Th-thank you," Rina stammered gratefully, quickly reaching out to grab the bag's handle in one hand and pull it closer to her.

"Hey, no problem! Just be a little more cautious next time, boosh." The deer grinned at her. "I'm Bam, by the way."

"Rina," she introduced herself, and held out her other free hand again to shake his… hoof.

"So… What are you doing here?" The blue deer asked her, somewhat awkwardly as he scratched the back of his head and eyed her up and down in an inquisitive sort of way. "Not to be rude or anything, but you're…"

"Human?" She took a guess as he drifted off.

Bam nodded. "I've never seen a human girl at AC Academy before," he admitted.

Rina managed to smile up at him, but as she opened her mouth to respond, she felt a little flutter of nervousness. Now that she had started talking to other students at the Academy, a sudden thought crossed her mind – would they accept her? Sure, Rover had been more than happy to introduce himself and excitedly drag her along with him to show her Main Street and the school, and Bam seemed nice enough as well, but would all the animals be quite this friendly toward her? She was the first human to ever attend in the history of the school; what if some of them didn't want her there? What if –

Her trailing concerns were interrupted by the arrival of the pair of horses she had seen racing with Bam earlier. One of them had very thick dark eyebrows that slanted inward, giving his expression what seemed to be a permanent scowl, while the other looked much more welcoming despite the bright yellow racing mask she wore over her face. They glanced at her curiously, though not in a particularly mean way, before turning toward the deer.

"What's taking you so long, Bam?" The female horse in the racing mask piped up. "I knew you weren't nearly as fast as me, of course, but we sure didn't expect to leave you behind in the dust like that!"

Bam gestured toward Rina with one hoof, "I was just helping her up after she fell, she's –"

"I'm a new student here," the girl explained quickly, tightening her grip on her suitcase's handle. "My name is Rina."

The two horses exchanged a look of slight surprise, and then a grin spread over the female's face, putting Rina's nerves a bit more at ease. "Oh, how exciting! It's so nice to meet you, sugar cube! I'm Victoria, and this is Buck!"

The other horse shrugged nonchalantly as he was introduced; he didn't seem to mind her speaking up in his place. "I thought we were in a hurry…?"

Victoria had just opened her mouth to reply when they were interrupted by the arrival of yet another horse, and all four of them turned to stare. This horse looked much different from the others, however, with strange black and white striped markings across his legs; it took a moment for Rina to realize that he was actually an okapi. He huffed and puffed as though he had just run a marathon, and bent over in exhaustion as soon as he had caught up to them.

"Haaay, guys... you're way too fast! I've... been struggling to keep up... for _ages_!"

Buck rolled his eyes while Bam stifled an amused snort. "You just need more training, Papi."

"I think... I need a nice peach cobbler... and a nap."

The grumpy-looking horse merely sighed disapprovingly and turned back to Victoria. "As I was saying...?"

"Oh, that's right! Er, sorry Rina, we've gotta go meet up with Winnie and the others. But we'll see you around, I'm sure!"

Before Rina could utter another word, Victoria had grabbed Buck by the hoof and sped off toward one of the largest school buildings at the far side of the courtyard. The okapi, Papi, nodded toward Rina in halfhearted greeting (as he seemed to be too tired to say anything else), let out a greatly exaggerated huff, and began to jog after them. Bam grinned, turning to give Rina a friendly little wave before following his friends. "See you later, boosh. And don't go tripping anywhere else!"

"Yeah…"

Rina shook her head as she watched them go, somewhat amused by their antics, and reached down to continue dragging along her suitcase, then stopped. Glancing around at the buildings nearby, it now dawned on her that she hadn't the faintest clue where to go, as Rover had gone on ahead without even realizing she had fallen behind. In her distraction, she didn't even have a chance to see which direction the cat went in.

She stepped up to the building nearest her, ignoring the odd looks she was getting from the little bushy-tailed squirrel sitting alone on the front step. Could this be the right one, she wondered? Or maybe she should have just followed Bam and the horses toward whatever building they had went running off to? Surely, they wouldn't have minded much if she had simply asked to join them, though she also didn't want to abandon Rover if she could help it, even if he had essentially done just that to her. He had seemed so excited to show her around campus.

So then, where should she go?

Luckily, Rina was spared from having to make that decision as a familiar high-pitched voice called out her name from a few steps away.

"You okay there, Rina?" Rover asked worriedly, rushing up to her with a rather frazzled look on his face. "I almost didn't realize you weren't keeping up with me until I turned around and you were _gone_!"

"Oh, yeah, about that…" she gave a small, slightly embarrassed giggle, "Uh, I sort of fell behind. Literally. My suitcase got stuck on the stones and I just fell right to the ground!"

The cat frowned, his ears flattening against his head in shame. "Oh, no! I'm sorry I wasn't paying enough attention to help you out. That was kind of rude of me, wasn't it…"

But Rina quickly waved his apologies away. "It's fine, Rover. I only tripped. I'd actually say it was a good thing, since I got to meet some of the other students after being helped up."

Rover instantly brightened up a bit. "So you're not mad at me?"

She laughed. "Of course not. We're friends. Now, where were we?"

"Oh, yeah!" He hefted his backpack more firmly over his shoulder with one paw and waved Rina forward with the other. "Come on! To the administrative office! And I'll try to walk a little slower this time, heh."

He continued to talk in swiftly-spoken Animalese as he trotted toward what looked to be the fanciest stone structure at the edge of the courtyard, centered just beyond the great fountain. Rina followed behind him at a comfortable pace, rolling her big plaid suitcase behind her and stealing glances at the other students gathered around, laughing and having fun in scattered groups as they enjoyed their last few hours of free time in the sun before they had to buckle down for classes the next morning.

"Usually at the start of term, they set up booths in the dining hall where returning students go to get their room assignments and schedules and everything before the classes start. Except freshmen, they get their own early orientation a few days before any of the other students get here, so they're not super lost when school actually begins. But you're not a freshman, are you?"

Rina shook her head, "I'm actually a second year student."

Rover brightened up even further, if that were possible. "Awesome, me too! Maybe we'll be in the same classes this year!"

Still grinning widely, he shrugged. "Anyway, as I was saying, since you're a transfer student, you wouldn't have gone to the freshman orientation over the summer, huh?" Rina shook her head again, and he continued, "Hmm, that's what I thought. You should probably pay Headmaster Tortimer a visit first, then. Transfer students are super rare at Animal Crossing Academy, practically unheard of - they almost exclusively allow only incoming freshmen as new students. So Tortimer might be waiting specifically for you! He usually prefers to see special cases and scholarship students directly, I've heard. And, no offense, but you're definitely special."

"None taken." Rina briefly wondered whether she should add that she was on scholarship, too, but ultimately decided against it. She didn't know how Rover's situation was, or any of the other students, and didn't want to sound like she was bragging or anything.

She remained quiet as Rover led her into the pleasantly cool entrance hall of the school building, which had a large clock showing the time just above the front door, and the flag of New Leaf Town flapping in the wind on a tall pole a little ways off to their right. It was much quieter in here, and rather empty, with no animals running about or calling out to their friends joyfully. The two students stood there blinking for a few moments, their eyes slowly adjusting to the dim lighting after having been wandering around outside in the bright sunlight, and then Rover soundlessly gestured to the grand oak-paneled door right in front of them.

"Here we are," he whispered, "the headmaster's office. You can just go right on in, I think; I'll wait for you out here, if you like."

Rina nodded and stepped toward the door as Rover went to sit down on the low wooden bench off to their left, curling his tail around his lap as he made himself comfortable. Taking a deep breath, she turned away and focused her attention on the office door, the small, fluttering nervous feeling in her chest gradually returning.

This was it... She raised her hand and gently rapped on the door three times, then took a step back to wait.

* * *

 **A/N:** **A few of my favorite Animal Crossing villagers have already been chosen to be featured as students in this story, like Bam was in this chapter (I think he's adorable, and if you like him, he should definitely be showing up again!), but I won't give any of the others away now - I want all the introductions to be a surprise! I haven't fully decided on all of the most important characters, though. Also, the first bunch of chapters will be mostly introductory, but once the characters are all settled, we'll start getting into more of an actual plot. As for their ages, the sophomore/2nd year students like Rina are all around 15-16 years old. There are four years in the school total, much like a typical U.S. high school; the big difference is that most of the students dorm in rooms on campus, since they come from all over to attend.**

 **Rina will be getting her roommate(s) soon enough - who do you think they will be? Let me know what you think in a review, if you like! And thank you for the favorites and follows so far. :)**

 **-CCM**


	3. Another Step Forward

Chapter 3: Another Step Forward

"Come in!" A muffled voice called out from somewhere within the office, beyond the oak door. Rina exchanged one last look with Rover, who nodded at her encouragingly, then gulped and pushed the door open.

The Animal Crossing Academy administrative office was very neat and tidy, all walls and shelves and desks made of reddish-colored wood - mahogany, perhaps? - with various papers and boxes gathered around in organized stacks, and healthy little potted plants occupying each corner. A pale blue banner was strung up against the far wall, the name ' _Animal Crossing Academy_ ' written across it in an easily discernible blocky font and the familiar green leaf symbol between each word.

And in front of that banner, seated at the front desk with one arm – _ahem_ , wing – resting on the counter, holding her head up in a particularly bored way as she scribbled something down in pen with the other, sat a pinkish-purple colored bird. A pelican, to be exact.

Rina gaped at her for a moment, staring at the heavily-applied makeup on the pelican secretary's face – she had never seen a bird wear lipstick before, nor had given the idea any prior thought, so it was kind of strange to see the bright red lips painted on the bird's large beak – until finally she stopped furiously writing and looked up at the human girl, her shaded eyes quickly narrowing at her.

"…Well?"

Rina cleared her throat nervously, feeling as though she were being scrutinized uncomfortably under the bird's watchful gaze. "Oh, um… Well, I –"

"Speak up," the pelican lady ordered, rolling her eyes as she muttered under her breath, " _I swear, these students nowadays just don't know how to actually talk at an audible volume… Always mumbling_."

 _You're one to talk_ , Rina thought to herself, but she didn't dare say anything aloud that would seem rude. Not that they would, but she didn't want to do anything that might risk getting kicked out of school for 'bad behavior' or something along those lines before term had even started.

"M-my name's Rina," she stammered instead, as politely as she could muster, "Rina Hayashi. I'm the new student here…?"

With shaking fingers, she pried the gilded acceptance letter from her pocket and presented it to the front desk pelican, but to her disappointment, the bird didn't even glance at it. She merely sighed huffily and tossed her pen down onto the desktop, looking increasingly annoyed.

"...Rina?"

A new, much more pleasant female voice interjected in questioning Animalese before either of them could say anything else, and both Rina and the secretary turned their heads to look at the second pelican who had just entered the room from a door in the back of the office.

This second pelican had pure white feathers and a welcoming look in her eyes, and she smiled kindly at Rina as she introduced herself, "Hello, dear! I'm Pelly Crane, but you can just call me Pelly – I'm one of the office secretaries here at Animal Crossing Academy, and the one in charge of sending out admissions letters. And there at the front desk is my older sister, Phyllis; I see you've already met?"

" _I'm not that much older_ ," the first pelican, Phyllis, muttered. Pelly merely shrugged, adding with a small giggle, "Phyllis isn't used to working so early in the morning just yet; over the summer, she's had a job on the night shift at the post office in town... If she had worked there much longer, she'd be more of an owl than a pelican!"

Never mind the fact that it was currently the middle of the afternoon.

Phyllis rolled her eyes again and returned to her deskwork with another grumpy-sounding snort, but her sister Pelly ignored her, instead glancing down at the clipboard she held in her white-feathered wings.

"So, Rina Hayashi, was it?... Well, Headmaster Tortimer has been waiting for you!" she exclaimed. "I knew that name sounded familiar. We just sent out your letter of acceptance not all that long ago. You can go right on back to his personal office, though this door here."

 _So Rover was right_ , Rina thought, feeling more at ease now that she knew she was doing the right thing. _The headmaster really was waiting for me here… Me, specifically!_

She briefly wondered what kind of animal the headmaster of the academy might be as Pelly gestured her through the door into his office, and then stopped abruptly as he came into view.

To her surprise, the Animal Crossing Academy headmaster was an old, wrinkled tortoise wearing a black top hat, his green skin faded with age and rounded, thick-rimmed glasses perched in front of his eyes, as well as a white goatee sprouting from his chin, strangely enough. Rina didn't even think reptiles could grow hair; but then again, she had already learned a lot of new things today, so this was just another curious finding to add to the list.

The headmaster worked at his desk silently, a wooden cane with a curved handle propped up against the side nearest him, but he glanced up from his scattered paperwork as she and the secretary entered the room.

"Headmaster Tortimer?" Pelly asked loudly, as though the old professor might be a little hard of hearing. "The new student is here to see you… Rina Hayashi. You know the one."

"Ah, Rina…" As he said her name, Rina stepped froward into the center of the room and bowed her head slightly in a respectful manner, while Pelly watched expectantly from the doorway. His eyes narrowed behind his glasses as he studied her appearance. "Oh yes, you're the human girl, eh? On scholarship, correct?"

Rina nodded. "Y-yes sir."

Headmaster Tortimer nodded right back at her good-naturedly, glancing back down at one of the sheets of paper lining his desktop. Rina had a feeling that whatever was written on that very piece of paper had something to do with her. "Yes, yes… very good. Your application to the school was exceptional; how could we not admit you? Human or otherwise?"

Embarrassed at his words of praise, Rina focused her gaze down at her feet atop the hardwood floorboards, and the elderly tortoise gestured at his pelican secretary still perched in the doorway. "Could you please gather up the necessary items for Miss Rina here? I'm sure you know exactly what she'll need."

Pelly nodded enthusiastically and disappeared back through the door into the main room. Tortimer, meanwhile, focused his unsteady gaze on Rina again, who had straightened up to look at him, and smiled warmly at her, the withered skin around his eyes crinkling. "Well now, let me see here… I'm quite confident it goes without saying that, as a scholarship student, you'll need to keep a top-notch record in order to stay. But that shouldn't be too hard, eh? Oh, as long as you keep up the good work here, you should fit in just fine."

He held out a hand cordially, and Rina quickly stepped closer to give him a brief handshake before he continued, "Now, allow me to simply say, welcome to Animal Crossing Academy! I do hope you enjoy your studies here; we're a very prestigious institution, you know, so you should be quite proud of yourself for getting this far already."

Rina bowed her head politely. "So… Is that all?"

Headmaster Tortimer nodded again. "I just wanted to get to meet with you in person, Rina, before your classes here start. It's customary with all the Academy's special cases – transfer students, scholarship recipients, and the like. And humans, of course; that's a first."

He turned away, still speaking. "Now, Pelly has gone off to prepare your things, so I'll have her set you up in regard to scheduling and dorming and all that fun stuff. Like I said, I just wished to have the chance to meet you officially! And let it be known that you're always welcome to stop by if need be, okay?"

"Thank you," Rina replied, quickly bobbing her head at the old tortoise's friendly words.

Headmaster Tortimer wordlessly looked back down at his desk, and Rina took that as her cue to leave. She gave a small wave goodbye and turned to leave the room, but stopped short in shock.

"What… is _that_?"

"Huh?" Tortimer glanced up from his desk again to see what the girl was asking about, and then a wide grin spread over his face as he caught sight of exactly what she was pointing at with an unsteady hand.

It was the strangest little thing Rina had ever seen. She had almost thought it was some sort of trash can at first, until she noticed just how oddly the thing was shaped, with two arm-like limbs sticking out in opposite directions at right angles, and the fact that it was _moving_. All on its own. She took a small step forward, and the thing began to move faster, rotating its appendages almost as though it was doing some sort of weird dance. And it even seemed to have a face, albeit a strange hollow sort of face unlike any she had seen on any living thing before. But was it even alive, or was it just some sort of machine?

"Oh, that's just our friendly little school mascot! Rina, I'd like you to meet Lloid!"

 _Lloid._ So this thing had a name.

"Um… What is it?"

"Lloid here is a gyroid!"

Rina paused at the unfamiliar word. "...A gyroid?"

Headmaster Tortimer must have noted the confusion in her tone, combined with a look of total bewilderment, because he laughed heartily. "Heh heh heh horf! Oh, yes, don't worry about him, young whippersnapper. He's quite amicable, really."

Rina eyed the gyroid, Lloid, somewhat apprehensively. He didn't say anything - she assumed it was a _he_ , going by its name, and that it was most likely sentient - but she supposed that he didactually look kind of amiable, once she had gotten over the initial shock at his odd appearance.

Still vaguely puzzled and not fully satisfied one bit with the headmaster's reaction to her surprise or his explanation of the so-called _gyroid_ , Rina merely shook her head and stepped out of his office with one final wave, leaving the elderly tortoise quietly chuckling at his desk.

"Oh, Rina!"

As she carefully shut the door behind her, Pelly quickly approached out of seemingly nowhere with her wingsfull of assorted items and papers. Without a moment's pause, she began handing them off to Rina one by one as she named them off, who found herself swiftly becoming overwhelmed by all that was happening in a very short amount of time.

"Here's your class schedule that I've printed out for you, based on your year and course preferences that were included in your application – please come back and let us know within the first week if there's anything wrong with it – and your student ID pass, you'll need that… a copy of the student handbook, should probably read that over so you don't accidentally break any school rules… Here's a map of the campus, in case you get lost… Oh yes, and you'll need your room key! It's in this little envelope, your dorm number assignment is in there with it, and you can see where the residential halls are right on the map… Oh, and have you already purchased your Academy-issued school uniform? You'll need to wear that every school day after classes begin, that's very important! Show unity and all that."

Rina nodded quickly, gesturing toward her overstuffed suitcase standing on the floor beside her, where her entire new, freshly-bought collection of ACA uniforms had been neatly packed. She wondered if that was all. It seemed like an awful lot of information to take in all at once.

"Good, good… And we'll have to give you a quick orientation tour for the remainder of the day, won't we?" Pelly asked, mostly to herself. "Can't have you wandering around on the first day of classes completely lost, or you might be late! And that's not a very good start to the school year."

Rina was about to explain that she did already have a friend to show her around campus, thinking of Rover still waiting outside the office for her, but Pelly was on the phone before she could even protest. Rina could only catch random snippets of the short, succinct conversation as she inspected the map of the school that Pelly had thrust into her hands.

"Hello? …Oh, yes? …Yes, we have a new student here… A special case, indeed... I was just wondering if you could send down… Yes, the class president… Okay, thank you! Buh-bye!"

Pelly smiled at Rina as she hung up the phone and set it back down at its place on the wall. "Lucky for you, I've gotten you a nice private tour of the Academy with the senior class president herself! I'm sure you'll love her."

The senior class president... Rina felt butterflies take off in her stomach at the thought of meeting whoever that might be, forgetting about Rover for a moment. So many questions she had about her already... What kind of person - _ahem_ , animal - would she be?

Before Rina could give it much more thought, the office door creaked open at that very moment, and she whipped around nervously to meet whoever had just stumbled into the room.

"...Miss Pelly?"

It was a dog, with long golden fur that was partly held up on top of her head with what looked to be some sort of red dog collar serving as a bow, complete with a teeny jingling bell. She was dressed in an ACA school uniform like many of the other students Rina had seen outside in the courtyard – a basic blue skirt and a clean white collared shirt and red tie, with a pale checkered green sweater over it. She was also quite short, at least a good head shorter than the human girl (if you didn't count the big poof of fur atop her head), and enough that Rina had to look down to meet her eyes.

A clipboard of some sort held in her paw, the blonde dog smiled warmly at Rina, who couldn't help but smile back at her in return.

"Oh, you're already here! Very efficient. Rina, meet Isabelle Hisho; senior class president," Pelly introduced with enthusiasm, and the pelican turned toward the golden-furred dog. "Isabelle, this is our newest transfer student, Rina Hayashi. She'll be going into her... second year, is it?"

Rina nodded, and Isabelle glanced over at her again. "Oh... hello, Rina! It's, um, very nice to meet you!"

Pelly leaned closer to whisper in Isabelle's ear, "If it wouldn't be any trouble to you, Rina here is the newest scholarship recipient at the Academy, and still requires a tour of the school grounds before her first day tomorrow. We thought you would be the perfect candidate to give her the full tour!" She paused for a split-second, one wing on her beak. "...That is, if you're not too busy at the moment."

"Oh, um, it's no problem at all! I'd be glad to," Isabelle beamed, and gestured Rina forward with her free paw. "Come on, we can talk more on the way! I'd be happy to answer any questions about AC Academy that you might have! And thanks, Miss Pelly."

The senior class president quickly turned and bounced back out the door, Rina hastily waving goodbye to the secretaries and tugging her luggage along in the little golden shih tzu's wake.

"Close the door behind you on your way out!" Phyllis called out loudly as the two students hurried out of the office. " _And be quick about it_ …"

* * *

 **A/N: Hmm, I thought about having Isabelle be the secretary at the Academy's administrative office in place of the pelican sisters like she is in New Leaf, but ultimately decided that Isabelle is much too adorable to** _ **not**_ **be a student with Rina and the others; plus, this gave Pelly and Phyllis the chance to have a slightly greater role in the story than they would have otherwise.**

 **Also, sorry this update took much longer than expected, I was having some weird issues uploading new documents to FanFiction, and then went traveling with family for a few weeks with pretty lousy Internet connection most of the time. A _big_ thank you to those who reviewed and all (and therefore reminded me to upload this chapter!). Next up is Rina's tour of the academy!**

 **-CCM**


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